Network Deployment (Distributed operating systems), v8.0 > Applications > Web services > Bus-enabled web services
Endpoint listeners and inbound ports: Entry points to the service integration bus
An endpoint listener is a web service-enabled entry point to one or more service integration buses. An endpoint listener carries requests and responses between web service clients and buses.
An endpoint listener is the point (address) at which incoming SOAP messages for a web service are received by a service integration bus. Each endpoint listener supports a particular binding. Endpoint listeners are supplied with WAS for the following bindings:
- SOAP over HTTP.
- SOAP over JMS.
By using wsadmin, you can also create an endpoint listener configuration for your own endpoint listener, rather than for one of the listeners that is supplied with WAS.
A request arrives at an endpoint listener. It is passed to an inbound port, at which point security and JAX-RPC handler lists can be applied, then sent on to the service destination. Responses follow the same path in reverse.
The endpoint listener acts as the ultimate receiver of a SOAP message. The resulting messages that pass across the service integration bus are not then SOAP messages, rather just the data and context that resulted from receiving the SOAP message.
We can set up separate endpoint listeners for (for example) requests from your internal users and requests from your external users. Each endpoint listener is associated with a specific server or cluster, a specific set of service integration buses and (through inbound ports) a specific set of web services. By restricting access to an endpoint listener, you can give different user groups access to different services. For example:
- To give users inside your organization access to the full range of internal and external services, you can make those services available through one endpoint listener.
- To give users outside your organization access to those internal services that you choose to publish externally, you can make those services also available through another endpoint listener.
Concept topic